) was a Dutch sports shooter

Shooting

Shooting is the act or process of firing rifles, shotguns or other projectile weapons such as bows or crossbows. Even the firing of artillery, rockets and missiles can be called shooting. A person who specializes in shooting is a marksman...

 as well as a Dutch law graduate.

Henrik Sillem was the son of Johann Gottlieb Sillem, banker with Hope and Co. bankers, Amsterdam. His mother was jonkvrouwe Judith Catharina Henriette Hoeufft. Henrik Sillem studied law at the University of Amsterdam. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject of 'Het faillissement des verzekeraars', which translates into English as 'the bankruptcy of the insurance company' and was published by Roeloffzen en Hubner publishers, Amsterdam, 1891. With this thesis he received the title of Doctor of Law on May 8, 1981. On May 28, 1891 he married in Arnhem

Arnhem

Arnhem is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located near the river Nederrijn as well as near the St. Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem has 146,095 residents as one of the...

 jonkvrouwe Susanna Catharina Beatrix des Tombe (born February 24, 1869, Arnhem - died November 6, 1948) on May 28, 1891, Arnhem. She was the daughter of jonkheer François Joan Adriaan des Tombe and Beatrix Cruys. The couple divorced in 1897. Henrik Sillem worked in Amsterdam, Holland, as a lawyer, legal advisor and public prosecutor. Together with his friend Solko van den Bergh

Solko van den Bergh

Solko or Solke Johannes van den Bergh was a Dutch sports shooter.Van den Bergh was a notary by profession who on June 6 1880 married the noble Sophia Emma Nicoletta van Limburg Brouwer in Zeist...

 and the Frenchman François Monod, Sillem initiated the first 'international shooting matches' (world championships in shooting) in 1897 in Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

. These were the forerunners of the matches

Shooting at the 1900 Summer Olympics

At the 1900 Summer Olympics, 9 shooting events were included. Many other shooting events were featured in Paris at about the same time, but only 9 events are considered Olympic by the International Olympic Committee...

 that were held in Paris in 1900, now considered to have been part of the Olympics. Sillem participated in these and won a bronze medal

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

 with the Dutch pistol team.

Henrik Sillem also made the first ascent of the West Ridge of Mt Cook in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 together with Peter Graham in March 1906. Sillem only reached the age of 41; he died descending the Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc or Monte Bianco , meaning "White Mountain", is the highest mountain in the Alps, Western Europe and the European Union. It rises above sea level and is ranked 11th in the world in topographic prominence...

making a fatal fall from the mountain.